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That bozo posted the same exact thing in another thread. He/she is apparently here for no other reason than to dump on Omaha and it's people with half truths and flat out lies.
Really? Because from what I have seen much of what he says is true. But then I am not a Nebraskan...
Really? Because from what I have seen much of what he says is true. But then I am not a Nebraskan...
And no offense Stacy, you seem like a really nice person but it's not really a secret that you have some kind of ax to grind with Omaha. You're from San Fransisco and liked it there and not really happy in Omaha. I can certainly relate, because I feel the same way about Tampa but I realize it's not really Tampa that sucks, it's just not the place I want to be.
That being said, I can guarantee you with near 100% certainly that almost everything in his/her post was incorrect.
I applied for a position in Omaha. My family and I live in Bismarck, ND. I've done some research on the Omaha area. I have some questions and remarks. My position would be between boystown and Millard, right by Oak View Mall. It appears this is a fairly new area. My wife has always worded customer service in call centers. Are there any near this area of my work? What rates are preschool or daycare rates go monthly? I have an 8 and 4 year old. When I lived near Minnesota, I loved driving for hours around the lakes and forests. Is there much as far as scenery to drive through? Realize that I grew up and lived in ND my whole life. The flat plains are not new to me. Not to seem to naive, but what is blight? I read about it on several posts stating that Omaha has areas of blight. From what I read it sounds like Omaha is a larger version of a Fargo, Sioux Falls, Bismarck type city. We are not into going to bars and nightclubs. Dont care for the nightlife. Got Kids. It seems that Omaha has quite an array of special restraunts. When I visit, what restraunt do I need to visit above all others? Please don't list if my food will run over $100 for a couple. I have many questions but will wait if I get the job.
Mattden please dont respond to this, I don't respect your opinion.
I am no stranger to culture shock. My advice is to really get to know an area for yourself before you make a decision to move there. That way you will know if it is for you.
Ahhh hell, it's late and I'm bored, so I might as well pick apart this post.
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Originally Posted by Independent_Thinker84_
Housing here in cheap, very cheap...
Probably the only correct thing about this post.
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The country here really is not very enjoyable and the land is not the most beautiful, I mean, farmland, cornfields and flatlands of the northern Great Plains are certainly not the most beautiful parts of our vast country.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or beer holder, but that's another thread) and while I won't lie and say that the Nebraska plains is as beautiful as the Rocky Mountains or the beaches of the east/west coast, it's certainly not some wasteland like you make it seem. There is plenty of beauty in Nebraska, you just have be willing to explore and appreciate it.
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If you have found a great job here, congratulations, since there aren't many unless you're into banking or insurance.
Like most large cities, financial and insurance jobs are going to very common and plentiful. This is not some phenomenon that is exclusive to Omaha.
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But if your goal is to save money, this would be a smart place to live, although I have a friend living almost in downtown Atlanta for the same price it costs to live here
Anyone who has spent time in the downtown Atlanta area can tell you why it's cheap. Hint...I hope you like red and blue flashing lights.
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in cold, frozen, Nebraska. Keep in mind you will not be able to do anything for about 7 months of the year due to frigid and unbearable temperatures.
What a crock. Midwest winters are not that bad IMO and it's DEFINITELY not going to keep you from doing anything unless you let it! I spent 15 years in Omaha and only on a few select occasions was the weather bad enough to put a halt to things.
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One other thing I think you should keep in mind, is that it is not very diverse here
This has been brought up time and time again, yet it's been shown time and time again that Omaha's demographics are pretty much on par with the country as a whole.
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and that Omaha is still the most segregated city I've ever lived in or been to.
Other cities are very much experiencing the same problem. Here, both Tampa and St. Pete have areas that are almost exclusively black or hispanic. Just like finance jobs, this is not some phenomonon that is exclusive to Omaha.
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There is a general tense mood b/w different groups of people here, as I have run into many instances of racism against people who are not white.
This one I'm calling a flat out lie. When I lived in Omaha I had no trouble making friends with members of other races. Two of my best friends were black, another close friend was middle eastern and I was friends with several hispanics. Here in Florida I've developed far less close friendships with those of other races, and I've seen far more many instances of racism. For the record, I attended a high school that was very "diverse."
Oh and again, just for the record, the number of times I personally witnessed racism happening in Omaha, I can probably count on one hand.
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This place has not yet moved into the 21st century
I'll give you this one, as there are some aspects that Omaha is behind other cities of it's size. That is due to the fact that Omaha is forced to submit to the more conservative laws passed at the state level.
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and is not used to different people from different places.
Again, this is simply not true. I knew people from all different races and backgrounds in Omaha and they never had trouble fitting in or being accepted.
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I was not welcomed when I moved here, and did not feel welcome. It is difficult to meet people here, as they pretty much stay to themselves.
Did you ever think that you were the problem? If you move to an area and decide you hate it and the people that live there without giving it a chance, why do you think people will flock to you or want to be around you?
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It will take years to adapt to this town
Omaha is not a town, it's a city. Just FYI.
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and you most likely will not grow to love the place, unless you are from Nebraska.
I can provide quite a few examples to the contrary.
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There is even tension b/w people from Nebraska and Iowa, as Nebraskans think they are better from some apparent reason
There is some tension between the two states, but it's not like they are going to war with each other. I lived in both states and alot of Iowa residents have an inferiority complex over Nebraska (and more specifically, Omaha) while alot of Nebraska residents were envious of Iowa's more socially liberal laws that allow strip clubs, later last call and so forth.
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although the two states are essentially the same.
I don't know what else to say to this, except for the fact that you simply don't know what the hell you are talking about.
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Omaha is definitely a bit more open-minded than the rest of the state, but it is still riddled with super-conservative people who are not open to new things/people/ideas/etc. Let me know if you need any other assitance finding sources to find housing! Good luck!
OMG! YOU MEAN A CITY OF ALMOST HALF A MILLION PEOPLE HAS SOME CONSERVATIVES?!? STOP THE PRESSES!!!
I also forgot that maybe we should mention that Nebraska also hasn't had a housing bubble burst, it doesn't have skyrocketing unemployment levels, and instead of a multi-billion dollar state deficit (see CA) Nebraska actually has a budget surplus.
As far as super conservatives living in Omaha. Really??? Guess what? There were people who voted for Bush and McCain in California and New York. This clown acts as though only democrats live in CA and only conservatives live in the midwest. I think he's taking the red state/blue state distinction a bit too literally.
As far as jobs, the world has shrunk a lot in the last 10 years and Omaha has a very diverse economic sector.
I particularly liked his claim that Nebraska has frigid and unbearable temperatures for 7 months of the year. Ha ha!
Yeah, there were some real gems in there.
And you know, I understand Omaha is not exactly Utopia and that not everyone is going to find it to be home, but there is no reason that someone shouldn't be able to move here and find enough to keep them happy.
I also forgot that maybe we should mention that Nebraska also hasn't had a housing bubble burst, it doesn't have skyrocketing unemployment levels, and instead of a multi-billion dollar state deficit (see CA) Nebraska actually has a budget surplus.
As far as super conservatives living in Omaha. Really??? Guess what? There were people who voted for Bush and McCain in California and New York. This clown acts as though democrats live in CA and conservatives live in the midwest. I think he's taking the red state/blue state distinction a bit too literally.
As far as jobs, the world has shrunk a lot in the last 10 years and Omaha has a very diverse economic sector.
Another good point! I've found homes in Omaha for under $100,000 that you couldn't dream of owning for under $200,000 if they were located in my current area.
As far as jobs go, on the EOmaha forum awhile back someone posted a list of cities and the job gain or loss. Omaha gained over 1000 jobs while the Tampa area lost over 63,000!
As for the politics, didn't Obama "win" the city of Omaha by a decent margin?
OK, so I have decided that the extreme sensitivity y'all show to any criticism of the area is a cultural thing...which I actually find really interesting. The West Coast is a culture of critique; people are always, constantly picking apart everything in an attempt to showcase the flaws and (ideally) make things better. That is just the way it is there. If you go to the San Francisco board and read some of the threads you will see what I mean. Someone posts that "San Francisco sucks" and you will get many, many locals agreeing for one reason or another. Not everyone but many. This does not mean that they are miserable people, but that there is a real difference in the local ethos. It also does not mean they don't love living there most days.
Of course here it is the total opposite, and I admit that I have had trouble getting used to it. Any flaws in the city, its systems, or its social structure are not to be admitted, and ardent (often strident) rebuttal ensues. Its a very jingoistic attitude, and I don't get it. How can anything ever change for the better is nobody will recoginise there is a problem? But anyways...
I don't have an axe to grind against Omaha I simply don't like living here. It is not the most segregated area I have ever lived in but it comes very close. I personally believe that segregation is not healthy for a society. It makes me very unconfortable to see the segregation here (which sometimes manifests itself on this board, as when a Latina person asks about Omaha and is told she should move to south O to be with her people...that was a couple of months ago.. Yikes!). I suspect that you will probably see more and more people moving here for jobs because there are areas in the country where the economy is so bad there is no work (Michigan for example). Yes, houses cost less here and that is a good thing.
But for someone like me who will likely not own a house for a very long time due to educational debt, and who has had very little luck finding a job in my field (education) this is not enough to mitigate the rest of the poster's points. As you have pointed out what one finds here is much a result of what one is used to (where you're coming from). I agree that the people here are not very friendly and prefer to be left alone. In fact some of my neighbors are downright rude. While I do not think that the area is rampantly conservative (I visit family frequently in Oklahoma...so I know the difference) I do find the worldview of most people I have exchanged with to be very very small. This is neither here nor there but I think this is reflected in the Omaha World Herald...which is the worst newspaper I have ever seen. Why do they even bother to put the word "World" in the title?
The 7 months of winter thing is funny (although was true enough in Michigan when I lived there) but I don't think its an exageration to say 5 months instead. And frankly if you do not like winter sports, eating out, shopping or going to the movies there is really nothing to do in those months. What do y'all do when you cannot spend time outside? I went for lots and lots of walks when I lived in Cali but its usually to freaking cold to leave teh house here! What the heck do you do if you have no family or firends to visit and no larger social network?? Seriously.
I think that those of you who love Nebraska do because you have found a community here. It has nothing much to do with the attractions of the area itself, but about the network you were able to build for yourself. This is great for you, but please remember that for people without any sort of social interaction outside of work this area has little to offer. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. So you can see how it would be very difficult for someone to come to Omaha and fall in love with it.
Finally I have to address the alligations of racism one more time. I really do not think that most white people really know what racism is. Its not about how you treat your friends, or about how many people of color you hang out with, but instead about how entrenched such things as selective hiring (and firing) are in the culture. How hard is it for a black person to rent an appartment outside of what is accepted as their segregated "sphere". How comfortable do non-whites feel living here? I do not have the answers to these questions (being white and all) but I think this is where people should be looking to see racism.
OK, so I have decided that the extreme sensitivity y'all show to any criticism of the area is a cultural thing...which I actually find really interesting. The West Coast is a culture of critique; people are always, constantly picking apart everything in an attempt to showcase the flaws and (ideally) make things better. That is just the way it is there. If you go to the San Francisco board and read some of the threads you will see what I mean. Someone posts that "San Francisco sucks" and you will get many, many locals agreeing for one reason or another. Not everyone but many. This does not mean that they are miserable people, but that there is a real difference in the local ethos. It also does not mean they don't love living there most days.
Stacy, I’m sorry, but you are wrong. MANY locals ***** endlessly about the area yet choose to stay put. In fact, I get tired of all the bitching. Many times with civic developments and other progressive actions taken by the city.
It's fairly disgusting, imo.
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Originally Posted by Stacy From Cali
Finally I have to address the allegations of racism one more time. I really do not think that most white people really know what racism is. Its not about how you treat your friends, or about how many people of color you hang out with, but instead about how entrenched such things as selective hiring (and firing) are in the culture. How hard is it for a black person to rent an appartment outside of what is accepted as their segregated "sphere". How comfortable do non-whites feel living here? I do not have the answers to these questions (being white and all) but I think this is where people should be looking to see racism.
Once again, until you are more integrated with the people of Omaha in general and how they interact, you have not one freaking clue about the racial tensions in Omaha and where they stem from.
Seriously and no offense, you do not have the slightest clue. Maybe some white people don't understand racism, but I sure as hell can tell you black people do not either. Many blacks in Omaha feel as though there is no such thing as racism when as it applies to them/only against them.
Sorry, you're a nice person, just a wrong person in this instance.
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